Rumblings of the Past Make Traveling with Pets to Charleston an Ethereal Vacation

There’s plenty of fun things to do with pets in Charleston, South Carolina is a bastion of Southern hospitality. Gorgeous antebellum architecture and the lush landscaping of the city make it a charming getaway for a vacation. Charleston is one of the United State’s oldest cities, dating back to 1670. It is known by the nickname The Holy City due to the many churches dotting the city’s streets. The low rise cityscape is dotted by the many steeples of the city’s churches, lending to the quaint atmosphere of the city. Charleston is the second largest city in South Carolina, and the fastest growing area of the state. It is also, you might have guessed, traveling with pets to Charleston makes for a fantastic vacation spot!

The absolute best way to see Charleston is on foot, and one of the most fun tours around is the Old Charleston Ghost Tour, offered through the Old Charleston Walking Tours group. The tour takes you and your pooch on a pawsitively spooky walk through the city and to the sites of legendary ghost stories. In fact, the Old Charleston Walking Tours company offers a variety of themed walking tours, check with the company to verify dog friendliness of the other tours, but we’re betting if dogs are allowed on the Ghost Tour, they are allowed on other walking tours as well! (Just check, since some of the tours may lead you into and through historic homes where Tappy may not be welcome) And think of it this way, if a place truly is haunted, your dog’s sixth sense will pick up on it and save you from being scared to death!

For a fun day in the sun and surf with your hound, head over to James Island County Park. Pups in the know say that this is Charleston’s best dog park. It has a dog beach and four acres of open grass that is completely fenced in and has a hose and cleaning station, fenced in small dog area. Be sure to bring towels and a blanket for your dirty dog after the day of frolicking in the surf is over! The park is always full of friendly people and their happy dogs, making it a great way to get to know some of Charleston’s dog people while visiting the city. The entry fee for James Island County Park is $1 per human, dogs are free.

The Magnolia Plantation has gorgeous gardens that welcome your furry friend for a fun day of exploring more than 900 different types of camellias. Magnolia Plantation has many nature trails – even one through a 60 acre black water cypress and tupelo swamp. Come on, it doesn’t get more Southern than that! Dogs are also allowed on the tram tours. Even more, pups that can be carried are allowed inside the plantation house too! But if you’re a big dog lover, you and your Lab, or Mastiff, or Shepherd can easily spend a full day exploring the beautiful grounds of the Plantation without ever stepping foot inside the Plantation house.

When you’re ready for a bite to eat, you might want to stop by pet-friendly Poogan’s Porch. This hotspot for celebrities, politicians, locals and tourists alike, is one of the city’s oldest and most visited restaurants. Built in 1888, it was voted by The Travel Channel as the Third Haunted Place in America. If this doesn’t pique your interest, try this: Poogan’s Porch is named after a scruffy dog that wandered from porch to porches begging for food and an afterward snooze. He eventually landed on the porch of the newly opened diner, proudly greeting the establishment’s first customers. The family that owned the restaurant fell in love with the dog and named their restaurant after him. And while Poogan died in 1979, his spirit lives on. Poogan’s Porch is open every day of the year except Super Bowl Sunday. All this is listed on our Charleston Travel Guidedesigned exclusively for pet owners.

Vacation Pet Friendly (and all of our dogs!) think Charleston, South Carolina is a pawsome place to vacation with your pet. Check out our directory of hotels that are as happy (sometimes happier!) to welcome your pooch as they are to welcome you and your human family. When you book your lodgings, flights and other amenities through our site, you get to take advantage of the exclusive Vacation Pet Friendly rates as well as send a message to hotels and businesses across the country that says “dogs are people too!” Well, you know what we mean!